Properties in Perth selling at fastest pace in 15 years

“The turnaround we are witnessing in the Perth property market is quite remarkable. In the span of 12 months, we have seen the Perth median selling time drop from 43 days in March 2020 to just 17 days in March 2021. That is a reduction in median time of almost four weeks or 26 days,” said REIWA president Damian Collins.

“Perth is a seller’s market at the moment and buyers are facing a lot of competition to secure a property, which is reflected in how quickly we are seeing properties sell,” Mr Collins said.

Conversely, listings are down as stock dries up across the WA capital.

In fact, on reiwa.com, listing sat at 8,247 at the end of March, representing a decline of 32.9 per cent compared with the same period last year.

But Mr Collins is optimistic, noting that although on annual level, listings are fewer, they have picked up by 5.1 per cent since February.

“It appears Perth property owners are increasingly recognising there is excellent opportunity available to sell their home quickly and at a competitive price.”

Speaking of prices, CoreLogic data shows the Perth home value index lifted 1.8 per cent in March.

“This is the seventh month in a row the Perth home value index has increased and it shows no signs of slowing down. On a quarterly basis, the home value index is up 5 per cent since the start of the year,” Mr Collins said.

Reiwa.com data supports the CoreLogic findings, with the Perth median house sale price sitting at $495,000 in March 2021, up from $480,000 in March 2020.

“There were 67 suburbs across Perth that recorded an increase in median house sale price during March,” Mr Collins revealed.

“The five suburbs with the biggest growth were Cottesloe (up 5.4 per cent to $1.95 million), Como (up 4.1 per cent to $895,000), Rockingham (up 3.8 per cent to $410,000), Lake Coogee (up 3.5 per cent $587,500) and Wannanup (up 3.4 per cent to $530,000).”

In regard to rental performance, Mr Collins also revealed that the time to lease a rental has quickened on the year, while remaining unchanged from February at 19 days in March.

“The last time rentals were leased this fast was in June 2013,” he said.

Mr Collins stressed that Perth desperately needs an influx of available rental stock.

“Now that the rental moratorium is over, we should start to see more properties come to market in the coming months, but it’s not going to fix all the problems.

“We need to incentivise property investment in WA so we can meet the demand for rental housing,” he concluded.